On our first night at the lodge we decided to go on the night hike excursion (I didn’t really want to go, but I was outnumbered). I left my camera behind because I needed to constantly be sweeping the ground in front of me with my flashlight and ready to flee at a moment’s notice.
When the hike began, my sister and I raced to the front of the line to be close to the guide. We did this so we’d be able to see anything that he was pointing out and also because the thought of being left behind in the jungle at night was terrifying.
He would pause every so often when he thought he saw or heard something, during which times my heart would start racing. We came across a hollowed out log on the ground and our guide lit it up with his flashlight. He became very excited and said, “Look in there!” I did not want to at first, so I asked, “What is in there?” He said, “A rat!” We all took turns peeking into the log to see the rat. I said, “Well, I don’t need to go to the Amazon to see rats, I can see them in Chicago.” He exclaimed, “You have rats where you live?” I said, “Well, I don’t have them in my home, but we have them in our cities.” He thought that was much more marvelous than any Chicagoan would ever feel upon spotting a rat.
We continued on with our hike, spotting a few frogs and lizards. By this time I was a little less nervous, as our guide was slightly annoyed that people kept talking. Since talking keeps the animals away, his job of showing us nocturnal animals was becoming harder and harder, and I was feeling more and more at ease.
The coolest thing we saw was glowing firefly larvae. They glowed a neon bluish color. Our guide had us all turn off our lights and stay silent for one minute to “listen to the jungle sounds”. Well, I thought that was a horrible idea, but I cooperated. It was so dark, I kept putting my hand in front of my face and I couldn’t see it. Then I tried staring at the firefly larvae as a distraction. The minute seemed to be dragging on and I realized I was on the outside of the circle and would be eaten first, so I tried to slowly move myself inside of the circle. The only problem was I couldn’t see anything and I ran into my sister and scared her. Then we got ‘shushed’ for making noise. I was trying to figure out how to get my sister and myself in front of the stranger standing next to me when he let us turn the lights back on. What can I say. Family first.😅
We actually saw so few animals that I felt at ease about spending the night in a room that was missing a wall. My husband and brother in law, who were at the back of the line, saw more than the rest of us. I think it was because they were quieter than the rest of us and were spending more time looking for animals versus staring at their feet and trying not to trip.
Our hike was approximately an hour long. I was relieved when I spotted the lodge up ahead.
Refugio Amazonas, Madre de Dios, Peru
We decided to hang out at the bar for awhile before heading back to our rooms for the night.
Katydid in the Amazon
Upon returning to our room, we were greeted by an impressive katydid hanging out on our light. My husband immediately became 5 years old in front of my eyes and tried to catch it. I believe we were serenaded by thousands of katydids throughout the night.
There’s a frog in my room!
When we got into our room, I noticed a very still frog on our wall. I actually wasn’t sure if it was real, but I couldn’t remember any ‘frog art’ gracing our wall. I pointed it out to my husband who immediately tried to catch it. Are you sensing a theme?
We tried getting ready for bed without turning on any lights, in order to not attract extra bugs.
Cicada in the Amazon
We were somewhat successful. The more lights you have on the more insects will grace the outside of the mosquito netting that is covering your bed.
I hopped into bed first, so my husband could make sure my netting was tucked in. When we went to sleep it was still warm out, but the humidity had dropped and we weren’t uncomfortable. By two in the morning, we actually needed to use our blankets. Our next morning started before sunrise. We were headed over to the Chuncho Macaw Clay Lick, hoping to spot some Macaws. We were not disappointed!
As always, wishing you happy travels and fantastic adventures in this thing called life.
(All pictures are available for purchase as Fine Art or Digital Downloads at full resolution through Alamy. If you see something you like, click on the link. If you are unable to find it, use the Contact Me page and I will make sure the image is available.)
To purchase digital downloads, visit my portfolio at Dreamstime. If you have difficulty finding something, let me know and I can send you the direct link for the image you are interested in.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.